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Maudlin Of The Well - Leaving Your Body Map CD (album) cover

LEAVING YOUR BODY MAP

Maudlin Of The Well

 

Experimental/Post Metal

4.20 | 363 ratings

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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Very good avant-metal.

This is a fantastic album unlike any of the other prog metal CDs I have heard recently. MotW is a previous form of Kayo's Toby Driver and is generally considered to be somewhat easier to get into initially, somewhat more variable in sound, but every bit as challenging, progressive and exciting.

"Leaving Your Body Map" is in the prog-metal category and while there is metal here, there is so much more going on. There is some spacey stuff, some ambient wanderings, some jazzy playing, some non-growl screaming that would make Henry Rollins jealous, and a great variety of mood and texture. Body Map also provides a different feel to the art than the stereotypical metal avenues traveled by some (not all!) metal bands. The overall vibe of MotW is more avant-garde/alternative metal and I think there is a clear nod to hard core punk going on here too.

One moment you will find yourself drifting into a daydream with soft meandering acoustic guitar. The next moment you'll be blasted off your chair by raging metal complete with growls and crushing blast, followed by sweet female vocals softly accompanied by a jazzy interlude. Then you may hear a single horn, an organ, or some sound effects. Suddenly you'll get nightmarish vocal loops followed by a gorgeous guitar solo. Anything can happen and it will. This stuff seems more diverse in character than Kayo Dot and I think that's why some prefer it. Another band that can be compared in spirit (if not totally in sound) to Maudlin is Discus. That same sense of musical insanity present on "Tot Licht" is here although the metal portion of the mix is way better with Maudlin.

Without any doubt, Maudlin of the Well is a superb musical journey recommended to fans of eclectic prog-metal, punk, and avant-garde. It is a must for Kayo Dot fans but if you happen to hate Kayo, don't just assume you'll hate Maudlin. They are similar in some aspects but not identical by any means.

Finnforest | 4/5 |

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